I'll Call It Like I See It

by sheila morris

For any who want more, complete list of all posts by month since 2011
  • Morning Joe, Tennis Channel, or Sunrise?

    Morning Joe, Tennis Channel, or Sunrise?


    Every morning my dog Carl and I are the first creatures to stir in our household and, after his morning constitutional around the backyard, he takes his first nap of the day while I weigh my before-the-dawn-cracks television programming options.

    Third choice goes to the Tennis Channel if there is a “Live” match from across any Ponds with players I enjoy watching in a different time zone from our Eastern Daylight Time. Jet lag is my constant friend during the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon tournaments – and I never have to leave the comfort of my recliner in the den.

    Second choice belongs to Morning Joe, the MSNBC news show that begins a four-hour time slot at 6:00 a.m. with co-hosts Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist. Morning Joe would probably be #1 for me if it were Morning Mika and/or had producers with less interest in a former president who is a convicted felon. Ugh. Same old, same old.

    But my Number One early morning favorite goes to…(drum roll, please)… Sunrise! on local WIS TV-10 from 4:30 a.m. to 7:00 a.m.

    “Sunrise” team Jamal Goss, Intisar Faulkner, Chandlor Jordan (weather)

    I’m not sure what these young people drink with their coffee, but whatever it is, I’d like to have some. If they don’t enjoy what they’re doing, they hide it well with onscreen fun, shared laughter, corny jokes, subtle reluctance to deliver bad news. My cynical old self has been won over by these fresh smiling faces.

    Do you have a Top Three to start your day? Inquiring minds want to know.

  • Hey, Molly – Hey, what? Wanna play hooky?

    Hey, Molly – Hey, what? Wanna play hooky?


    Ask yourself. What would you rather do? Stew over 55 days remaining until Election Day in the US on November 5th., worry over wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, angst over California wildfires and Hurricane Francine, watch a Davis Cup tennis match between Spain and Czechia, write a blog post – OR would you rather play hooky with your 2-year-old granddaughter Molly and go to the zoo?!

    Molly and her Neena play in the best and biggest sand box

    I’m gonna catch you, Neena!

    Neena, you not a dinosaur!

    Neena and Molly take a breather after their wild escapades together

    Meanwhile, Naynay and Molly play a different game on the wide open spaces of grass at the zoo playground.

    I can do it by myself

    Naynay, don’t touch

    be careful, Naynay

    just before a gigantic fall

    Huge kudos to Pretty for service above and beyond during our zoo trip for carrying Molly all afternoon from one fun exhibit to another because Molly (who weighs 33 pounds) refused to walk for some strange reason known only to herself, asking for a stroller instead when we entered at the back gate. Pretty’s arthritic knee was killing her, but she soldiered on. I played the old age card whenever Molly reached for me, but Pretty and I both bemoaned not being able to find a stroller at the back entrance of the zoo when we came in.

    On the way out of the zoo while Pretty went to get the car to come pick up Molly and me, Molly flew to sit down in a stroller she must have spotted when we came in and was trying to tell us about it. Sigh. Double sigh.

    We also forgot to take water, apple juice, snacks, and anything else of importance. We had focused entirely on remembering our zoo membership card which was evidently our collective brains’ capacity.

    Let the good times roll. Happy National Grandparents Day!

  • Roe, Roe, Roe the Vote on November 5th.

    Roe, Roe, Roe the Vote on November 5th.


    Time to resurrect my joy in limericks which reinforce a reminder of why I can’t write poetry. Sigh. The spirit is willing, but alas, the flesh is weak.

    Roe, Roe, Roe, the vote,

    and to the polls we’ll go.

    We won’t go back,

    we’ve made a pact

    that Dobbs we’ll overthrow.

    **************

    Sing along with me all the way to November 5th.!

    Have a great Labor Day Weekend. Stay safe, and stay tuned.

  • Hallelujah, Hope is Making a Comeback!

    Hallelujah, Hope is Making a Comeback!


    Thanks to former First Lady Michelle Obama for reminding me at the Democratic National Convention this week of our mutual feelings sixteen years ago when a young Senator from Illinois, her husband Barack Obama, was nominated to become President of the United States. President Obama became the champion of “hope” in my mind forever because he believed in the possibility of positive change in a nation I sensed we both loved. I’ve missed them both.

    We choose hope over fear. We see the future not as something out of our control, but as something we can shape for the better through concerted and collective effort. We reject fatalism or cynicism when it comes to human affairs; we choose to work for the world as it should be, as our children deserve it to be. (President Obama to the United Nations General Assembly, September 24, 2014)

    four-year-old Ella on board the Harris/Walz JOY Campaign Train in playhouse at the zoo yesterday while two-year-old Molly hoped for height

    My hope is we will choose to work together for the world as it should be, as all children deserve it to be.

    Onward.

  • Happy Birthday to our own Millenials

    Happy Birthday to our own Millenials


    Last night we celebrated our son Drew’s birthday with dinner at Dee’s Wings for his favorite ribs in town (mine, too) plus another all-time favorite of his (and everyone else at the table): the brownie sundae dessert. I asked Drew at dinner what words of wisdom he had when he considered his life on his thirty-ninth birthday. He looked thoughtful and said I’ve learned family is the most important thing in life. I believe he’s right.

    This morning I searched my archives and found we celebrated another birthday dinner five years ago in 2019 with our own favorite Millenials. Enjoy!

    Number One Son and Pretty Too

    This week Pretty and I had dinner with our Number One Son (Drew) and his wife Pretty Too (Caroline) to begin the celebration of their August birthdays. They are our very own Millenials and we love them dearly.

    This picture was taken recently by a friend of theirs – they are all smiles because next year they hope to be holding one Ella Elisabeth James, their daughter who is expected in October.

    Pretty and I are all smiles, too! Our children and grandchildren are our hope for not only our family but also for our country. May the promises of America become a reality in their lifetimes.

    ***************

    Two new little girls have been added to the family courtesy of our two Millenials since that birthday celebration in 2019, and last night after dessert we walked outside to visit a local street fair where a woman brought smiles to all by making balloon art and princess headbands. 

    Ella Elisabeth James was, indeed, born October 01, 2019, and younger sister Molly followed on January 26, 2022. Pretty happily morphed into Nana when Ella started talking, and I became Naynay. We’ve never looked back.

    Molly looking for Birthday Daddy

    (who was resting in the car to let brownie sundae settle)

    Stay tuned.